Buzz surrounding Cambodia property

Amid a strengthening Cambodian property market, more condominium projects from the kingdom are being launched to overseas buyers including Singaporeans.

Axis Residences in Phnom Penh is the latest development trying to woo investors from the city-state, two weeks after many Singaporeans reportedly snapped up units at La Vie Residences in the capital’s Chroy Changvar area. Read more > S’poreans among foreigners buying up luxury Cambodia project

Marketed by CBRE, Axis comprises 566 apartments of one- to four-bedrooms and is located near Phnom Penh International Airport, shopping malls and international schools.

Singapore-based developer Spring CJW is behind the project which has seen more than 60 percent of residential units pre-booked before the public launch, said General Manager Edwin Low.

“Savvy investors from Taiwan, Korea, Malaysia and Singapore have started looking out for quality and pre-booked units at Axis Residences ahead of the public launch in Phnom Penh in mid-March this year,” he shared.

Prices start from US,200 psm. Under the country’s laws, foreigners can own upper floor units and up to 70 percent of a condominium. According to CBRE, the law has little impact on overseas buyers since apartments are generally not built on the ground floor, which is the case for Axis Residences.

CBRE added that Cambodia’s condominium market has great potential. In 2009, the consultancy’s local branch recorded only 178 condo units in Phnom Penh. By 2014 that number had soared to 2,095 and more than 9,000 units are expected to come onstream between 2015 to 2018.

Compared with the number of condo units entering mid-town and downtown Bangkok (190,000 units), Ho Chi Minh City (over 57,000 units) and Hanoi (more than 77,000 units) during the same period, it shows there is still more room for growth, noted CBRE Cambodia’s associate director Simon Griffiths.

In addition, condominiums in Phnom Penh have posted rental returns of five to seven percent, while capital growth ranges from five to 7.5 percent per annum.

Image: Artist’s impression of Axis Residences.(Source: CBRE)

Romesh Navaratnarajah, Singapore Editor at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg